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Nicholas Brendon
Nicholas Brendon (born April 12, 1971, as Nicholas Brendon Schultz in Los Angeles, California), is an American actor best known for his character Xander Harris on the hit television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003). Early Life Nicholas Brendon was born Nicholas Brendon Schultz on April 12, 1971 in Los Angeles, three minutes after his identical twin brother, Kelly Donovan. As a youth, he aspired to become a professional baseball player, but he "lost the passion for it" at 20. Instead, he decided to pursue acting in an attempt to overcome his stuttering problem, which had first become apparent at age 7 or 8, and had made him so fearful of speaking or interacting with strangers that he did not begin dating until 21 or 22. Brendon comments, "Every day I still have to remind myself to slow down and concentrate. Constant repetition of tongue-twisters was like lifting weights for me, but patience and persistence have paid off." He gave up acting after two years because he "couldn't stand the politics in Hollywood." Brendon returned to school to study medicine, which didn’t work out; he also tried his hand at a variety of odd jobs, including plumber's assistant, veterinary janitor, day care counselor, waiter, and production assistant for the television show Dave's World. Career At the age of 25, Brendon decided to return to acting. He signed with a manager and obtained the role of Xander Harris on Buffy the Vampire Slayer three months later. He appeared in all but one of the 144 episodes in the series, and even shared the screen with his twin, Kelly Donovan, when his character was split in two in the fifth-season episode "The Replacement". After the series ended in 2003, Brendon joined the cast of the Fox television pilot The Pool at Maddy Breakers. The series was not picked up by the network. In 2004, he co-starred in his first ABC Family movie, Celeste in the City. The following year, he returned to Fox as part of the cast of Kitchen Confidential, based on the book by chef Anthony Bourdain. Thirteen episodes were made, but the series was cancelled on December 9 of the same year, after the fourth episode aired with low ratings. In 2006, he voiced Huntsboy #89 for season 2 of the animated series American Dragon: Jake Long. That same year, he reunited with his former Buffy the Vampire Slayer co-star Charisma Carpenter in the ABC Family TV movie Relative Chaos. From July 26 through August 30, 2006, Brendon co-starred with Noah Wyle in the play Lobster Alice at the Blank Theatre Company in Los Angeles. He subsequently appeared in the Blank Theatre’s annual Young Playwrights Festival and its productions of The SantaLand Diaries (November 20 - December 20, 2009), and Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them. On September 29, 2010, he premiered his web comic Very Bad Koalas, co-created with animation director/producer Steve Loter. The comic follows the journey of two sheltered and innocent koalas experiencing a variety of people and places while on the run from the law in a 1958 Cadillac El Dorado. On October 28, 2010, Brendon began a four-episode arc on ABC's Private Practice playing Lee McHenry, a mentally disturbed man who assaults Charlotte King. In 2007, Nicholas began appearing on the TV series Criminal Minds in the recurring role of FBI technical analyst Kevin Lynch. He has appeared in episodes in each season since, through the seventh-season finale in 2012. Nicholas Brendon later guest-starred on Criminal Minds. This show include also many guest-stars of Buffyverse like Luke Perry (Oliver Pike), Candy Clark (Joyce Summers in the movie), Mercedes McNab (Harmony Kendall), Christopher Doyle (Colin), Geoff Meed (Andrew Borba/Mag), Chad Lindberg (David Kirby), Lenora May (Mrs. Jackson), Denise Dowse (Ms. Miller), Juliet Landau (Drusilla), Clayne Crawford (Rodney Munson), Robin Atkin Downes (Machida/Pockla Demon), Will Rothaar (James), James McDonald (Paul Stein), Jack Conley (Gib Cain/Sahjhan), Lorna Scott (Ms. Beakman), Jack McGee (Doug Perren), Chad Todhunter (Rickie Thomas), Jack Plotnick (Allan Finch), Jennifer Hetrick (Ms. Moran), Suzanne Krull (Magic shop owner), Nathan Anderson (John Lee Walker), Edward Edwards (Travis), Jeff Kober (Zachary Kralik/Rack), David Haydn-Jones (Hobson), Michael Cudlitz (Big Bob), Bonita Friedericy (Mrs. Finkle/Patience), Lindsay Crouse (Maggie Walsh), Robert Catrini (Riegert), Kevin West (Marcus), Greg Collins (Keith), Leonard Roberts (Forrest Gates), Bailey Chase (Graham Miller), Brad Blaisdell (John Straley), David Bickford (Cargo Inspector), Doug Jones (a Gentlemen), Maury Sterling (Barney), Josh Randall (Bartender), Colby French (Tay), P.J. Marino (Peter Wilkers), Chet Grissom (Clark), Sara Van Horn (Faith's nurse), Conor O'Farrell (McNamara), Maurice Compte (Chain), Joe Basile (Lenny Edwards), Sam Anderson (Holland Manners), Joel Heyman (I ♥ Wolfram & Hart), Michael Harney (Anthony Harris), David Wells (Cheese Man), Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn Summers), Brian Turk (Mort),Tom Breyer (Unidentified writer), Angel Parker (Veronica), Time Winters (Overheiser), Gareth Williams (Mr. Chaulk), Stewart Skelton (Harold Jeakins), Cheryl White (Claire Jeakins), Steve Rankin (Mr. Maclay), Ezra Buzzington (Unidentified Bartender (Willy's Bar)), Patrick Kilpatrick (Paul Lanier), Randy Thompson (Aaron Kriegel), Tony Todd (Vyasa), Tom Kiesche (Detective Broomfield), Katherine Ann McGregor (Catherine Manners), Nick Chinlund (Ellis), Abraham Benrubi (Olaf), Jamie McShane (Unidentified demon/ Pylean Rebel) Cynthia Lamontagne (Lydia), Victoria Kelleher (Val), Eric Lange (a Lubber Demon), Frank Novak (Mr. Bointon), Bob Jesser (Torto Demon), Kevin Cristaldi (paramedic),Mik Sriba (Sam), Stephanie Nash (Mrs. Kramer), Pat Skipper (McCarthy), Anne Betancourt (Stevens), Wade Andrew Williams (Gregor), Adoni Maropi (Rebel Leader), Keith Szarabajka (Daniel Holtz), John Rubinstein (Linwood Murrow), Sam Littlefield (Bobby), Sam Ayers (Baby Killer demon), Michael Merton (Carl Savitsky), Jonathan Goldstein (Mike), Marcia Ann Burrs (Bellamy), David J. Miller (Rat-faced demon, Gary Grubbs (Roger Burkle), Daniel Hagen (Frank), Patrick Breen (Nevin), Kelly Smith (Unidentified woman (Smashed)), Casey Sander (Anthony Harris), Jan Hoag (Carol Harris), Mel Fair (Tentacle Demon), Patrick St. Esprit (Jenoff), Michael Warren (Doctor (Normal Again), Heidi Fecht (Mrs. Raiden), Glenn Morshower (Phillip Newton), Thomas Crawford (Eater Demon), Brandon Keener (Lance Brooks), Angela Sarafyan (Lori), Riki Lindhome (Cheryl), Josh Braaten (Torg), David Monahan (Garrett), Gina Torres (Jasmine), Kristin Richardson (Tracy Bellows), Chane't Johnson (Martha Jane), Christine Healy (Last Guardian), Merle Dandridge (Lacey Shepard), Marc Vann (Sparrow), Michael Shamus Wiles (Spanky), Rodney Rowland (Corbin Fries), Jordan Garrett (Matthew Fries), Jon Billingsley (Evan Royce), Stacy Reed (Charlotte), Lindsay Ginter (Commander Petrie), Scott Klace (Mr. Fury), Joel Polis (Captain Franklin), Dennis Christopher (Cyvus Vail) and Elimu Nelson (Ernesto). On 2014, Brendon was part of a summit for writers of Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics, which included Joss Whedon, Jane Espenson, Drew Greenberg, Andrew Chambliss and the then-incoming Buffy writer Christos Gage. He is currently involved with the show's canonical comic book series Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten, on stories centering on his character. Charity Work Brendon has done work for the Stuttering Foundation of America, which approached him around 2001, and made him its honorary chairperson for its National Stuttering Awareness Week in May 2001, May 2002 and May 2003. Personal Life On April 25, 2004, at a Buffy fan convention in Cleveland, Ohio, he announced that he had voluntarily entered rehab for alcoholism. In the early morning of March 17, 2010 Brendon was tasered and arrested by Los Angeles police, who confronted Brendon in response to a call about an intoxicated individual. Brendon allegedly swung his fists at the officers and attempted to run away, and after being subdued, was arrested for felony vandalism. Brendon was initially held on $20,000 bail. Brendon was later charged with four misdemeanors, including one count of resisting arrest, two counts of battery against a police officer, and one count of vandalism. In May 2010, Brendon checked himself into the SOBA Recovery Center in Malibu to address his addiction to alcohol and sleeping pills. On June 19, 2010, Brendon pleaded no contest to all four charges and received a one-year suspended jail sentence, was placed on probation for 36 months, and was required to perform 10 days of community service. Characters *Xander Harris *Xander Harris (Wishverse) Appearances He appeared in every Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, except for the Season 7 episode Conversations with Dead People. See Also *Buffy Summers *Willow Rosenberg *Rupert Giles *Anya Jenkins *Cordelia Chase External Links *Wikipedia * *nickbrendon.com *Twitter Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer (series) Actors Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer (video games) Actors Category:Series Regulars Category:Writers